Residents weigh in on Escondido library expansion

Architect says new wing is expected to ‘wow’ patrons without being extravagant, flashy

ESCONDIDO  An expansion of Escondido’s central library should include outdoor reading atriums, multiple public meeting rooms and an inviting entrance, residents said at a forum this week.

They also said the expanded library should look as iconic as City Hall, but not be nearly as flashy as the Palomar Medical Center campus that opened in western Escondido last summer.

“I’d rather have functionality than a ‘wow’ factor,” resident Lorna Underwood said.

Underwood’s comments came during a forum Tuesday led by two architects the city hired this winter to design a large new wing for the library. The forum’s goal was incorporating the public’s preferences and ideas into the design.

City officials have said it’s a top priority to modernize and expand the library.

The main library on Kalmia Street downtown was built in 1980 before computers and the Internet became dominant forces in information gathering. In addition, the city’s population has nearly doubled since then.

The expansion would include a new wing of between 30,000 and 40,000 square feet that would be built directly south of the main library for about $25 million. The two wings would be internally connected on both floors.

At Tuesday’s forum, residents praised the plan to expand the library in phases. But they told the architects to avoid innovative or expressive design concepts, especially for the exterior.

One of the architects, Jill Eyres, said she was confident that the new library could still “wow” people without being extravagant.

“The ‘wow’ factor is what makes kids want to come back, and it’s what makes their parents keep bringing them back,” Eyres told the 25 people who attended Tuesday’s forum in the existing library.

Resident Lucy Berk said a crucial element in the design should be a welcoming entrance.

“There’s nothing more important than the entrance,” said Berk, suggesting that water features and outdoor seating should be included.

Eyres said Escondido’s temperate climate makes outdoor features a much better idea than in other cities. But the existing library is almost entirely enclosed.

Resident Dolly McQuiston said larger meeting rooms would also be important. The other architect, David Schnee, said the rooms could be built with movable walls and possibly be open for use outside of regular library hours.

Other issues raised by residents included the fate of the Mathes Center and the Pioneer Room — two annexes on the library campus — and a former Woman’s Club building there.

Schnee said the Pioneer Room and the Woman’s Club building would be replaced by the new wing. But he said the library archives in the Pioneer Room would be “folded into” the new wing, and that the Woman’s Club building would probably be moved to Grape Day Park.

He said the fate of the Mathes Center, a building that served as the city’s main library before 1980, would be determined by an environmental analysis that would assess its historic value.

Schnee said an additional round of community meetings will be held in July so residents can comment on the designs that the architects create.

He said one goal of the designs was keeping the cost of the building low enough for the city to raise money from donors. The city also hopes to secure government grants. Early costs estimates have been about $25 million.

The expanded library’s design is scheduled to be presented to the Planning Commission in August and the City Council in September.